urn:taro:utexas.blac.00025Jesús González Ortega:An Inventory of His Collection at the Benson Latin American CollectionUniversity of Texas at Austin1/24/1995Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, July 2001.Finding aid written in English.August 28, 2002Edited with XMetaL3 by Bob Stewart according to instructions inEditing TARO EAD XML Finding Aids with XMetaL.Tue Jul 22 14:57:56 CDT 2003urn:taro:utexas.blac.00025 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (20030505).
Descriptive Summary
González Ortega, Jesús, 1822-1881.Jesús González Ortega Collection1851-1881bulk 1860-18612974746214 inchesBenson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at AustinCorrespondence and other documents associated with Jesús González Ortega, Mexican military and political leader, pertaining chiefly to military and political affairs during the War of the Reform and the French Intervention. Spanish or Castilian.
Biographical Note

Military and political leader. Born 1822 on the Hacienda de San Mateo, near Teúl, Zacatecas; died 1881 in Saltillo. Served as jefe político de Tlaltenango (1855) and Fresnillo (1857), and Diputado in the Congreso Zacatecano (1857). Designated by the legislature as governor of the state of Zacatecas upon the resignation of the previous governor (1858). Organized troops and defended Zacatecas from attacks by the conservative forces of Joaquín Miramón and Adrián Woll.

Having been functioning successfully as a military commander without official rank, González Ortega was named General de Brigada in June 1860 but declined the appointment, preferring to continue in his unofficial capacity. On August 10, 1860, González Ortega defeated MiramónÕs forces at Silao and was named hero of the state of Zacatecas. He again was offered a commission as General de Brigada, but declined once more. He assumed Santos DegolladoÕs command when Degollado was relieved by President Benito Juárez. On December 22, 1860, González Ortega defeated Miramón, Leonardo Márquez, and others in the battle of Calpulalpan, ending the Guerra de los Tres Años.

González was named Ministro de Guerra by Juárez on January 1, 1861; he renounced this office on January 17 but continued to serve until April 6, 1861, when he renounced the post a second time. He was elected president of the Supreme Court, in effect giving him the vice-presidency of the Republic, and was sworn in on August 20, 1861.

Upon the death of General Ignacio Zaragoza, González Ortega was given his command and participated in the defense of Puebla in the spring of 1863. A year later, he was ordered by Juárez to Saltillo to fight the French. On December 30, 1864, Juárez granted permission to González Ortega to take temporary leave from his duties, upon which he went to the United States to raise support and supplies for the army. Juárez decreed on November 8, 1865, that González Ortega was in dereliction of his duties for having abandoned the country and his troops without the permission of congress and the president, and instituted proceedings against him. González Ortega was detained by U.S. officials on November 3, 1866, when he attempted to return to Mexico. He was released and entered Mexico, but was arrested upon the order of the acting governor of Zacatecas and imprisoned in Saltillo on January 8, 1867. In April he was transferred to the Prision del Obispado in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. During his incarceration he was elected to Congress but declined to serve. After his release from prison on August 1, 1868, González Ortega retired to private life in Saltillo.

On July 11, 1869, he was elected diputado proprietario from Tlaltenango to the Congreso de la Unión. He was named enviado extraordinario y ministro plenipotenciario to Spain on March 11, 1874. On January 6, 1881, President Manuel González conferred upon him the rank of general. González Ortega died in Saltillo on February 28, 1881.

Correspondence, literary productions, financial documents, lists, and printed material (bulk dates 1860-1861). Correspondence pertains mostly to military matters during the War of the Reform and the French Intervention. Correspondents include Ignacio Comonfort, Santos Degollado, Manuel Doblado, Benito Juárez, Guillermo Prieto, and Ignacio Zaragoza. Literary productions include two essays by Guillermo Prieto, a report of the Battle of Silao, speeches (including González OrtegaÕs eulogy), plans of operation and attack, poetry, and excerpts from periodicals. Lists and financial documents concern military matters from 1856-1864; some items in these series are undated. Certifications, orders and instructions, circulars, manifestos, and decrees from 1857-1867 relate to military and political affairs during that period.

The materials are in Spanish.

Organization

Organized into two subgroups: Archives and Manuscripts. Subgroups are further divided into series by format of material.

Arrangement

Chronological arrangement within series.

Acquisitions Information

The Jesús González Ortega Collection forms part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García.

Processing Information

The Jesús González Ortega Collection was organized into Archives and Manuscripts subgroups by earlier library staff. Series were created by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed processing of the collection in December 1993

The following guide is available in the Benson Latin American Collection Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos Eduardo, 1896-1958.Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library.Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1939.